Heart of a Human
by Kailynn Sanchez
Summary: I don't know if he and I were really meant to be. I didn't really care, either. But one thing i was sure of - I would always have the heart of a human.
1. Chapter 1

**i do not own Maximum Ride. i'm not even done reading all the books, but i'm getting there. **

**this is kinda along the lines of it... freaks of nature, being created in a science lab, being chased by people who want to kill them, the freaks being in a pack-like-thing... enjoy!**

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Prolouge

I stared out the window.

There's more to being human than just coming into the world and then dying. Once you're there, being it, living it, then it's different. If you're like me, you'll see that there's much more meaning to it.

Many people take it for granted, being human. "It's a privilege for us," like Crystal said. "It's a gift for those few hours that are possible. The real humans don't know how lucky they are."

I wanted to see Crystal again. I wanted to feel the warmth of her icy blue-blonde hair against my cheek. I wanted it all back. Scratch that. I _needed_ it all back.

Crystal was like my mom. She raised me, for the most part. It felt like part of me was missing when she wasn't near.

The snowflakes outside swirled around in the wind currents. I swore I could see Crystal out there, disguised as a shadow on the snow beds, where she belonged.

* * *

I sucked in oxygen for the second available. Being a fish was the fastest way to travel over oceans, or, through them.

But fish are boring. Being a dolphin is better, which I was.

My nose emerged from the water, leading into a jump.

Right before I hit the water again, I caught a glimpse of my shiny, sunset-purple body. The same color of my eyes.

Being a Shifter had its benefits. We could change into any animal or figure that we wanted. And we could stay that way forever, with one exception.

The one exception was also the one drawback: we can only be human for two hours at a time, once a day.

That's why I didn't have a good education. I couldn't just phase in the middle of class. And disappearing after two hours every day would be overly suspicious.

But some of the older Shifters helped teach the younger ones the basics. Crystal and Brad were the best. They were patient and understanding. And they actually knew what they were talking about.

I saw a column of steam coming up from the horizon. They were tuna fishers.

I know it's just a myth, dolphins being caught in tuna nets. But just to be safe, I stopped swimming for a moment, letting my body float to the surface.

I had to time this right. Soggy feathers aren't very fun. I had to stay as dry as possible.

After taking one more gulp of air, I backed up under the water. I shot forward, out of the water, like a torpedo.

Almost instantly, my structure crunched to less than a twentieth of my size. At the same time, I was growing feet, feathers, and a beak.

Seagulls weren't my favorite, but the second most important rule of being a Shifter is to blend in. I really wanted to turn into an eagle or something more impressive than a scrap-eater, just to tick off the sailors. But if Crystal found out, it'd be the end of me. Literally.

My wings caught air right before I hit the water. I sailed up.

Landing on the side of the tuna-boat, I stared into the blue-green water. It only lasted a moment before another seagull was perched beside me.

"Nice shift, Ems," Jack thought.

"Emma," I corrected.

Jack always called me "Ems" instead of my real mane. He's in love with me, I'm convinced.

Another thing about Jack, he can't keep his thought to himself. Shifters can choose to keep their thoughts to themselves, or to pass them along to the others. Jack still needs to master that first skill.

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked.

"No."

"Why?"

"Now you're asked me two questions."

"Whatever. So why don't you ever seem interested in me?"

"Because I'm _not _interested in you." I started flying away.

"Ems!" He flew after me.

"Stop calling me 'Ems!'"

"But it's such a cute nickname for you!"

"Like I care, jack. _Like _I care."

We kept flying; me straight ahead, Jack flying circles around me and trying to block my path.

I eventually lost him after we were over the US soil. Jack's always had a thing for disappearing. He knows how to make me happy.

Focusing my mind to where I was going, I shifted into a hawk. Hawks were faster than stinking seagulls. And they looked better.

I saw skyscrapers in the distance. They were just the right size for my distance.

Taking a well-formatted nosedive to the ground, I scanned the roads for my very well-known SUV.

Forest green caught my eye, mounted on four tired. The SUV.

I lightly perched myself on the roof of the car, ready for the ride. Hopefully, this was the right SUV.

I looked over at the road. There was a big dent and black streaks. Yup, it was Ben's SUV. I had about five minutes to get to his house, shift, and get some clothes.

Taking off again, I flew as fast as I could to his house. I drifted up to the thermals, gaining my needed speed.

Finding Ben's house was easy. And he had left his bedroom window open for me. He's so sweet.

Two more minutes till Ben got home.

I shifted to a human, quickly noting the time on his digital clock. I had two hours, starting at 4:32 P.M.

Finding the extra clothes that I always had stored at his house, I quickly got dressed. Time was everything.

Propping myself up against the side of his bed, fully clothed, I waited for Ben to come home.

I heard a door slam on the main floor of the house. Benny-boy was home.

Ben came into his room. He was just as hot as he used to be.

"Hey, sexy," I said.

He jumped, and turned around facing me. "Emma?"

"Benjamin?"

"Oh, my god! How did you get in here?"

"Window."

"Emma." He sat next to me. "God, I've missed you."

"I missed you too, baby."

Ben's lips pressed to mine. I felt his long, black hair tickling my cheeks. His hands traveled along my sides and down my back. "I love you, Ems."

I pulled away from him quickly.

"What?" Ben asked.

"Sorry. Just please don't call me 'Ems.'"

"M'kay." He kissed me again.

My arms locked behind his neck.

"I've got a question for you."

"What?" I asked.

"Why have we never had a decently long date? You always disappear after a couple hours."

"Um…" I thought as fast as I could. "It's a secret. I can't tell you."

"Emma? Please?"

"No," I giggled. "Hence it is being a secret."

"Emmy, please tell me? I'm your boyfriend! We're supposed to know everything about each other!"

"Benjamin Reid Thomas, I'm not telling you!"

"Fine. Be that way." Ben pulled me onto his lap and pressed his lips to my neck.

My fingers gripped his shirt, pulling it tight against his back. God, I loved him.

I really _did _want to tell Ben about the Shifters. I really did. But _the_ number one rule of being a shifter is that you can't tell anyone about it. _Anyone._

After another argument at 6:25 about my mysterious leaving, I ran down Ben's street and to the word so I could shift without anyone seeing me. It's harder than it seems.

Quickly stripping off my clothes, I ran farther into the tightly spaced trees. I didn't have much time left.

Again, I quickly shifted into a hawk. I had made the change just in time.

The good part about the location of Ben's house: it's only a five minute fly from the Shifter's headquarters. Convenient.

Headquarters: out human refuge. It has this special lining inside that lets us stay human, without the two-hour limit. But we don't stay there forever because plain white walls get boring after a day or so. And it smells bad enough to eventually drive some of us to insanity.

Landing in one of the changing areas, I shifted to a human again. I pulled on my clothes and made my way to the main area of headquarters.

Jack and Crystal were sitting on one of the white couches, flipping through the channels of a flat-screen TV that we could somehow afford.

"Hey, Ems," Jack called, his eyes not leaving the television screen. His arm rested on the edge of the couch, his thumb pressing the remote.

"How did you know it was me?" I asked.

"I can see you."

Crystal ruffled his light brown hair. "Leave Emmy alone, Jacky."

I smiled. Crystal was the only one that was allowed to give me a nickname.

She flipped her icy blue-blonde hair over her shoulder with her tan-skinned hand. She had round, deep brown eyes and a short and thin body.

Jack was completely different. He had short, light brown hair and light skin. He had bright green eyes and was tall and lanky, but surprisingly agile.

"Oh, so _she_ doesn't have to call you by your real name, but I _do_?" Jack asked.

I nodded and smiled. "Just learn to deal with it."

"Fine," Jack grumbled.

Brad suddenly appeared by my side. He was tall, like Jack, but very muscular. He had short, dark brown hair that just covered his forehead. His eyes were a deep shade of brown contrasting with his light skin.

I quickly jumped onto Brad's back, my arms and legs wrapped around him. "I got you," I murmured, pressing my face into his hair.

"Where've you been?" Brad asked, helping my down.

"She's been with that _human_," Jack thought.

"Emma, I've warned you about him," Brad said out loud. "You know how easy it is to let things slip when you're getting serious with someone."

"But you and Crystal-"

"Are _both_ Shifters," he finished my sentence. "Must I remind you _every_ time?"

"It's just that-"

"No, Emma. It's because we both know how hard it is to keep our lives continuing through the years," Crystal said, getting up from the couch and skipping over to Brad.

I wandered into the room where our beds were. I found Taylor there. "Hey, Tay."

"Hi." Taylor's black hair was tied up in a ponytail, the end hanging over her shoulder.

I collapsed on my bed and pulled the blankets up over my face. God, I was tired.


	2. Chapter 2

**i do not own either series. i'm sorry, i don't.**

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I opened my eyes. It was dark in the large bedroom.

Everyone was asleep in their "beds." They were really like rafting-tubes, but with layer after layer of cloth and padding. But they were comfortable. We had lugged them up here because we couldn't afford to have real beds. And plus, these were much more fun.

Brad and Crystal's beds were pushed up next to each other. Taylor was asleep. Jack wasn't there. He was probably out wreaking havoc on the innocent, one of his many favorite pastimes.

I snuck out to the kitchen to find something to eat. I found Jack. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"What do you think?" he asked, stuffing a doughnut in his mouth.

"Becoming a human pig?" I think that statement was kind of oxymoron-ic. And ironic, because he really could be a human pig if he was right in the middle of a phase... I'm losing myself.

"Very funny."

"Thank you. I take pride in my insane amounts of humor."

"So, how's that _human_ you're always with?" Jack asked as he threw a doughnut to me.

"He's fine."

"Still sexy?"

"Since when can you read my mind?"

"Since forever."

"You're scaring me."

"Boo."

"Whatever." I threw the doughnut back at him and raced out to the changing rooms.

I wanted to see Ben again.

Finding the right house was a little harder in the dark. And _much_ harder when you're a rabbit. But I could smell Ben with my awesome rabbit sense of smell.

I found my clothes from yesterday, phased to a human, and put them on. They were a little dirty, but good enough. Ben wouldn't notice.

I raced to the back of Ben's house. I had a small rock in hand.

The light was dimly on in Ben's room. I threw the rock at his window.

His face appeared. A grin crossed his lips.

The window opened. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you," I called quietly up to the window.

"Meet me at the back door."

About a minute later, we were in his room, lying on his bed. His arms were around me, pulling me closer to his bare chest.

My fingers ran through Ben's black hair, twisting it from straight to curly. Our lips were pressed together.

"This is great," I murmured.

"My parents aren't home."

"Even better."

Before I knew what was happening, we were both half naked. Instinct was my best policy.

"What are we doing?" I grabbed his hands to keep them from searching.

"I don't know." Ben's fingers entwined themselves with mine so that they were impossible to untangle. "Let's see where it goes."

My underwear and his boxers simultaneously came off. We were ready for this.

Halfway through, my eyes drifted to the clock. I had two minutes before I… I don't know. Disappeared? Died? Noone's ever made it to tell us what happens.

"I have to go," I said sharply, pushing myself away.

"What? Why?" Ben pulled the sheets back up above his waist as he searched for his boxers.

"I can't tell you." I climbed out of the second-story window, landing neatly on my feet.

"What about your clothes?" he called.

"I'll be fine!"

I hid in a bush, instantly shifting.

My rabbit form made its second appearance. Not too often.

I bounded off to the wooded area behind his house. I stopped and stared back at the house.

Ben was kneeling by the bush, staring at me.

He knew.


	3. Chapter 3

**chapter three! enjoy!**_

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God, that was too close!

I shifted to a hawk again and flew to the headquarters. The whole time, I was cussing myself out in my head.

"What happened?" Jack's mind asked me. He was also in hawk form. "I _know_ you're not directing all those words at me."

"Nothing," I shot back fiercly.

"Ems, c'mon, tell me!"

I nose-dived at his head.

"Okay, okay!" He flew next to me instead, our wings brushing together slightly. "Really, what's wrong?"

I pushed forward. "What do you care?"

"I care about _you_!" his thoughts shouted as they faded with distance.

Getting back in HQ was easy at night. I could get in without the chance of anyone seeing me. The last thing I needed was someone knowing that I had snuck out.

"Where were you?" Brad asked.

I froze in the middle of the room. C. R. A. P.

I'm screwed. Great.

"Where were you?"

"I was… umm… flying," was my oh-so intellegent answer.

"Why?"

"I just felt like getting out."

"Where did you go?"

Jack appeared. "Thanks for leaving me back there, Ems. And I am oh-so grateful that you stole the rat that I was about to eat."

I turned to him and flashed him a confused look.

Jack winked at me before turning back to Brad, shooting him a fierce look. "Leave her alone," his thoughts said, "she had a rough day."

Brad's eyes flicked to me, a slightly softer gaze. "We'll talk later," he said mentally.

"No, you won't." Jack pulled me into the bedroom.

"So I guess you know what happened?" I asked.

"No, actually, I don't. But it sounds pretty bad because of the way you were cussing yourself out back there."

I laughed. "What do you think happened?"

"He broke up with you?"

"No."

"Then he found out about… us."

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, not looking at his eyes. Looking at him would make everything so much worse.

"He did, didn't he?"

"I lost track of time! I had two minutes! I jumped out of the window, hid, and phased!"

"Em-"

"He saw me before, and after. He didn't see the actual shift."

"How do you know?"

"I was in a freaking bush!" I could feel the tears pricking at my eyes. I turned away from him. "Just go away," I said with my mind, directly at him.

Jack came back around my front, his hands on my waist. "Are you… crying?"

I looked up into his bright green eyes. He really did look concerned.

"I'm fine," I told him, but I could feel the tears fall down my cheeks.

"Really?" He wiped a tear away with his thumb.

Instead of trying to fight him, I let him lead my back to fight him, I let him lead my back to my bed and tuck me in. I felt him kiss me goodnight, softly, on the lips.

I didn't kiss him back, though.

I cried myself to sleep that night.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four!

**disclaimer: nothing has changed... ever...**

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I woke up that morning really late. But Jack was still passed out in his bed, so I would be fine.

I just stared at him for a while. He was on his back, left arm hanging over the edge of the bed, his right crossed over his bare chest. His legs were tangled up in the sheets.

After I crawled out of my bed, I laid next to Jack in his. I did this all the time, but I never thought of him more than a brother.

I pressed my face into his chest. He smelled like grass in the morning – with the dew still on it.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked quietly.

"I don't know."

He held me for a while. "Shall we go get doughnuts?"

"Yes, we shall." I pulled Jack off his bed and threw a shirt at him.

We got our doughnuts and sat on the couch together.

"Jeez, Ems, isn't this great? Just us, sitting on the couch and eating jelly-filled doughnuts. This is the life!" Jack said, spreading his arms out wide. "We're free!"

"Free from the Lab!" I chimed in.

The Lab was where we were made, and somewhat raised. It was the main reason why none of us could stand plain white walls for extended amounts of time. We were kept isolated from everything else in the world.

The scientists crafted our DNA when we were barely embryos to see if we would shift correctly. We could turn into any animal, but better because we still kept human intelligence with us.

There were only two kinks in the experiment that they couldn't work out. One was the two-hour limit on being human. The other was our auto-spot.

Auto-spots were our only serious weak point. If something pressed there, we would automatically shift to a random figure. Everyone's auto-spot was on the back of their left knee. But it's only if something or someone else presses it, because crossing our legs would've been very difficult.

Brad and Crystal were the first two created. They were meant to see if they would be able to mate successfully. They were – and we got Taylor, who was born a few years later, not nine months later. We don't know why.

Right around when Taylor was born, Jack and I were made for the same purpose – to mate. But, fortunately, we escaped before "Mutant Mating Part II" could be made. I'm sorry, but I can_not_ picture myself… and _Jack_… being with each other.

It's a sick image, trust me.

I followed Jack into the kitchen. He grabbed an orange and passed it to me behind his back. "We should go out sometime. To have fun."

"Why?" I phased one of my fingers into an eagle's talon and peeled the orange.

"You scare me how you can do that and no one else can."

"Like I say about my many other talents – it's a gift."

A piece of toast popped out of the toaster. Jack and I reached for it at the same time. Our hands touched, and we froze.

I felt his other hand on my waist, and I looked up into his bright green eyes. He was staring at me in this intense way that held my gaze to his.

Jack started leaning in slowly. So slowly that I thought grass would grow faster than the time it took for his lips to be even an inch away from mine.

"Um…" I said. I put a hand on his forearm. "Weren't we going to go out?"

"Oh… yeah… right." He backed away from me. His eyes looked hurt.

* * *

In the changing room, as I stripped off my clothes, I couldn't help it when my thoughts drifted to Jack. I had wanted his lips to press down on mine. I wanted him to hold me forever and always be there. I… I think I was falling in love with him.

Before I shifted, I put some extra clothes in a bag to carry in my animal's mouth or claws. Being prepared was everything.

I shifted into a dog – and pure white malamute, and picked up the bag in my teeth. Then I raced out the door.

"Just what I was thinking," Jack thought with a laugh. He was in dog form, too – a border collie with dark brown fur all over.

"You're just that predictable." I started running.

"Hey! Ems!" He started running after me.

I spun around and a deep growl escaped my throat. "Don't call me 'Ems.'"

"Babe." He trotted up to me, dropped his bag, and just sat there. "You need to chill."

I lay down, resting my head on his front paws. "You're lucky I tolerate you."

"You're lucky you have me in the first place."

"True." I heard some rustling, and sat up. I cocked my head to the right, trying to catch the sound better.

"You look so cute when you do that," Jack said.

"Shut up."

Then I saw Ben. He was weaving his way through the trees.

Jack saw him then. "Is that him?"

"Yeah. Act like a real dog. That should be natural for you."

"Shut up."

Ben walked to us. He dropped to one knee in front of me and his gentle hands scratched behind my ears and down my neck. It felt great. He pet Jack in the same way.

Then he saw my bag. I could see in his eyes that he knew it was mine.

He turned and looked in my eyes. Crap.

"Emma?" Ben asked.

I didn't do anything that would give me away. Just cocked my head over to the left and looked at him.

"Emma?" he asked again.

I just kept staring at him.

He groaned. "You're just a goddamned dog." He pulled out a hand-gun.

Oh yeah, Jack and I ran away.

I heard a shot ring out, and a bullet embedded in my side. I yelped as I automatically morphed into a human.

Another thing – if we get severely injured while in animal form, we automatically become a human. We don't know why. It's inevitable, and I was caught.

Ben ran up to me. "What the hell, Emma? Why did you lie to me?"

"I… I couldn't tell you." I was clutching my side, trying to stop the bleeding and cover my exposed areas.

"Why?" He kicked me hard in the stomach.

Jack growled deeply and jumped on Ben's back. I saw Jack rip a chunk of skin off the pure human's shoulder. The dog got elbowed in the mouth. Jack eventually won when he finally sunk his teeth deep into Ben's side.

Ben ran away, leaving his gun on the ground. Finally he was gone.

Jack came over to me with nothing less than a bloody mouth and a very slight limp, and licked my side free from the blood. He kept his eyes away on my face, and away from anything that I was trying to keep covered. I loved him for that.

"Why?" I asked him out loud.

Jack sat up and looked at me with his bright green eyes. "'Why?'" he thought.

"Why did you attack him and clean me up?"

"Because I love you. That's why."

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	5. Chapter 5

**lol... it took me forever to get this chapter up... ENJOY!**

**DISCLAIMER: i do not own anything mentioned in this chapter, or anything of the like.**

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Wow. I never knew that he'd actually say it out loud. I just stared at him

"What?" Jack thought.

"I just… didn't think…"

"You didn't think that you'd be good enough for anyone other than that snot-bag?"

"No, it's that-" A sudden pain shot through my side.

"We need to get you back to headquarters." Jack morphed into a human and carefully picked me up. I tried to keep the fact that he was naked from bothering me. It obviously didn't bother him that much.

He put me gently on the couch and ran to put some boxers on. I stared at his long legs and the perfect shape that they had.

Bit by bit, I was just falling in love with him more and more. His perfect body, perfect heart, perfect for me… no. No, no, absolutely not. I am _not_ going to fall in love with Jack. We were created for that reason, and I'm not going to fulfill the purposes those evil scientists had in mind. Never.

Jack came back with some of my clothes, antibacterial ooze, and some bandages. "My eyes are closed. Get dressed and try not to hurt yourself."

I was doing well with dressing myself until my shirt brushed the open wound. I yelped, and fell.

He ran forward and caught me around my waist before I hit the floor. "I thought I told you to be careful when you got dressed.

"Just… just fix it…" I clutched my side, trying to stop the bleeding.

He moved quickly, putting the antibacterial on the wound, and then pressing bandages over it. His hand lingered on my waist when he was done.

"Don't try anything," I warned.

"Why? You know he doesn't love you anymore. But I always will."

"Will you just give me up, already?" I asked, moving to a sitting position. "Can't you just accept the fact that I don't love you and we'll never be together?"

"Emma." He held my face gently between his palms. "We were made for each other – almost literally. We _belong_ together."

"Jack, give it a rest!"

"No! Not until you're opened up to me and _then_ proven that we weren't meant to be. If the world wants us apart, I'll go with it. But we were literally made for each other, don't you see? I see in your eyes that you get some feeling whenever I'm around."

"So?"

"You like that feeling, Emma. You _love_ it."

He was right. I loved the feeling that his presence shot through my gut. "What point are you trying to prove? That we should be together ever if I don't feel it with you?"

Then he just leaned forward and kissed me – right on the lips.

I put my arms around his neck and _hell _yeah I kissed him back. But I wasn't about to admit that I felt more than just spark between our lips.

A few seconds later he pulled away and stared at me intensely with his gorgeous green eyes. "You don't have the nerve to say that you felt _nothing_ there."

Instead of answering, I pulled his head towards me and pressed my lips to his.

We _were_ made for each other. I felt it in my head, my guy, most importantly my heart. I wanted to be with him, now. I hadn't felt it before, but now that I did, I wanted more.

As if he was reading my thoughts, Jack picked me up in his arms and carried me to the bedroom. Our lips never lost contact.

He laid me on his bed and got down next to me. We were just lying there kissing for what felt like forever.

His stomach growling for lunch stopped us from going any further. "The stomach has spoken," he said.

I laughed and got off the bed, pulling him with me. His bare chest pressed against mine. "I have to put my eating clothes on," he said, sounding almost disappointed.

"Your 'eating clothes?'" I asked.

"Sweats and a t-shirt. They're comfy and nice to relax in."

"Ah. I see. I'll go make some toast."

"You go do that."

Right after I popped 2 pieces of bread in the toaster, Jack came out of the bedroom. I was just staring at him for a while.

"What're you staring at?" he asked.

"You. Nothing special."

He came over to me and kissed my cheek softly. "You don't know how good it feels to have you for myself, now."

"You're just flirting."

The toast popped up – nice and crispy – and Jack and I reached for it at the same time. Again. But this time, his arm was reaching for it behind my back in a nice and flirty way.

I pushed his hand away gently. "My toast."

His other arm snaked around my waist and he held me to his chest, lips pressed gently down on mine. He took the toast and brought it close to my face. "_My _toast." He sweetly kissed my nose and backed away from me.

I froze, seeing Crystal and Brad standing behind the counter. Brad's dark left eyebrow was raised in a silent question.

"Well," Jack said. "Emma got shot today."

"Lemme guess what happened next," Brad said. "You bandaged her up, and she instantly and finally fell for you?"

"Yup." Jack smiled.

"Déjà vu."

"How so?"

"That was the exact same way that I fell for Brad," Crystal said. "Except I got stabbed and not shot."

"Interesting."

"We were getting scared that Emma wasn't ever going to fall for you. I was 14 when I went for Brad. And I'm never going to be able to let him go."

Great. Now I'll be with Jack for the rest of forever.

Awesome.

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	6. Chapter 6

**sorry for taking so long in posting this chappie! i have had the most _horrible_ block and i'd been writing single paragraphs or sentences before i finally sat down in study hall and finished it. SORRY FOR THE WAIT!**

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"So," Jack said once Brad and Crystal had disappeared into the bedroom. "Are we ever gonna go out?"

I put my arms around his waist and pulled him closer. "I don't know. _Are_ we?"

"Well, I heard that there's a movie showing in the park tonight. Do you want to go?"

"Sounds good."

_**

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"How're we gonna get in the theatre?" I asked when Jack and I were running through the woods again.

"It's in the park. 5 dollar admission for humans. But baby, we get in for free!"

"You dog."

"Stop trying to be ironic," Jack thought. Dog form was our favorite way to travel downtown. We blended in perfectly, and we loved the feeling of our muscles rippling under our skin and the unlimited power they gave us.

We snuck over the fence bordering the park and found perfect spots near the back. Dogs don't need too much space.

"I'll go find us something to eat." Jack licked my cheek, a gesture that was very romantic in dog-world.

Once he was out of sight, a sandy-haired mutt pranced over to me and dropped a corndog at my feet. "For my lady," he thought.

"You… how can I hear you?" I thought back.

"I'm a Shifter, too. I've been watching you, and I need a place to stay for a few days."

"I don't know if-"

"Hey, I got you a corndog. That's gotta get me _some_thing."

"What's your name?"

"Jason."

"Why are you alone?"

"I've always been on my own."

"Are you a nomad?"

"Is it always 20 questions with you?"

"Answer the question."

"Feisty now, aren't we?"

"I'm just hungry," I explained briefly.

"Eat the corndog."

"I don't know where it's been."

"Smart girl."

A deep growl came from behind me. "Get. Away. From her."

"Jack, chill. He needs a place to stay for a few days."

"Him and how many others?"

"Just him."

"Oh." He sat down. "So where's you come from?"

"Albany," Jason answered.

"And how'd you get to Manhattan?"

"I'm a Shifter, remember?"

"Right."

There was an awkward silence for a few minutes before I broke it. "Jack, where's the food?"

"Well I was thinking that we could force-shift bozo over here into something appetizing."

"_Jack_!"

"I'm going, I'm going." He ran off, muttering about cannibalism.

"He's protective," I briefly explained for Jason.

"Obviously."

When the movie was showing, Jack was always glaring at Jason over my back. I didn't exactly trust the newcomer either, but I wasn't showing it as clearly as Jack was.

Jason was ruining our date.

_**

* * *

**_

After the movie was over, jack and I led Jason to headquarters. Neither of us was too thrilled about letting him stay with us. But we couldn't just leave him out on the cruel streets of New York.

I got changed and had about a minute of sitting on the couch before Jack and Jason came out. Jack entered the room without wearing a shirt – a bad habit of his.

It was the first time that I'd seen Jason not as a mutt. He had shaggy strawberry-blonde hair that fell over the bluest eyes that I had ever seen. He was wearing a blue and white pin-stripe shirt that was a little tight on his chest, but I didn't mind too much. He smiled at me – the brightest and most attractive smile I'd _ever_ seen. And I'd seen a lot.

"You are _so_ much prettier than I imagined," he said.

Jack came over and kissed my neck. It was a sign of dominance and possession in our clan. He stood up and glared at Jason.

"What?" the blonde asked. "Am I not allowed to compliment her?"

"No, actually, you're not. She's mine and only mine."

"Protective much?" Jason thought to me.

"Just a little," I answered.

There was a metallic _ching_ behind me. Jack perked up. "Toast!"

I sighed. "Jack, it's after 9. You don't need to eat any more."

"Says you." He took the toast and slathered butter on it. "Where is everybody?"

"Maybe they're asleep," I said.

"Crystal said that she'd still be up when we got back."

"Well go check the bedrooms."

"Fine." He went through the door and stopped. "Uh… Ems?"

"What?"

"You should come see this…"

I got up and stood next to him. A lit candle was sitting on the floor between two of the beds. A tri-fold mirror was placed around it, making the light shine on the opposite wall.

"It's a candle, Jack," I said. "What's the big deal?" But I was scared of the tiny flame, too.

He pointed to the lighted wall, his face unnaturally pale. His hand was shaking.

I turned and saw what he was pointing at. On the wall in red pain were two words.

_You lied…_

"That's Ben's handwriting," I said. "He did something to them."

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**just so you know, Jason looks like a strawberry-blonde Sterling Knight when he still had his sexy, long hair (like in season 1 of SWAC). sexy...**

**R&R!**


	7. Chapter 7

Everyone in the Shifter clan was afraid of candle-light fire. That's why we never have candles lit. They remind us all too well of the Lab.

_**

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**_

_The tiny flame flickered above us, casting ghastly shadows on Brad's face. "That little thing is freaking me out," he said._

_"It freaks us all out," Jack murmured. "Why do they have to keep us here? Why can't they just let us go out… and track us or something?"_

_"And then torture us with that little flame," Taylor spat. "They just love to torment us."_

_Lab life was horrible. The food sucked, the scientists were just plain horrible to us, and we were all packed together in a class-room sized living space. At night, they lit a candle hanging from the ceiling. We were almost never able to sleep because of it._

_"We need to get out of here," Jack said, standing up. "We can't live like this anymore."_

_"How do we get out, though?" Brad asked. "The door is the only exit, and it' always locked."_

_"Who says we have to get out the logical way? There's fire up there, and I'm pretty sure that these stupid dry-walls can burn."_

_"How do we get to it, though?" Crystal asked. "Even Brad can't reach it, and he's at least six feet tall."_

_Brad's form crunched into a robin and he hopped out of a pile of clothes on the ground. He flew up to the candle perch and shifted to a ferret. "Everyone watch out," he thought, and with his tiny paw, pushed the candle down to the ground._

_A fire instantly lit the room ablaze, and alarms started wailing out of control. Brad, now in lion form, plowed down some scientists so we could get out._

_There were gunshots, bullets whizzing just centimeters past all of our heard. The flames were catching up with us, and so were the scientists. The worst part? My legs were running out of energy._

_"I gotcha." Brad scooped me up in his arms and ran with me._

_I put my arms around his neck and held onto him. "Didn't you just shift back?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Did you get any clothes on yet?"_

_"No."_

_I held on around his neck tighter and kept my eyes squi9nted shut. I didn't need to see any more of him than I had to._

_We finally got out and all shifted to dogs, running until we couldn't hear sirens or scientists shouting about their loss. Out energy was wearing thin – especially Brad's._

_Once we were miles away, and there was no hope that we were being followed, we slowed down and came to a stop. I had regretted the run. I hadn't gotten to see any of the outside world, like I had been looking forward to doing._

_Crystal came up beside me and collapsed on the grass. Brad lay next to Taylor. Jack just sat and panted. It was as if he never got tired – ever._

_"How are you guys so tired?" Jack asked. "That was fun!"_

_"Coming from the Energizer Bunny himself," Brad muttered. He had shifter to human form, but lucky for me, Taylor was blocking what needed to be covered._

_Jack shifted to a plush-looking pink rabbit with cymbals. He shuffled around us, banging the cymbals in our ears and being more obnoxious than before. I didn't know it was even humanly possible. But, of course, if _is_ Jack…_

_One by one, we changed to humans, all eyes closed to keep from seeing anything we didn't want to see. "What do we do now?" I asked._

_Brad was the only one to answer. "I don't know."_

_**

* * *

**_

Jack and I were sitting at the counter, just talking about things that avoided the subject of Ben and the kidnapping. It was hard, for that was all that was on my mind.

"Guys!" Jason called. "You should come see this!"

Jack groaned and jumped off the counter. "Why did I ever agree to let him stay with us?"

"Because it's the right thing to do."

We found Jason in the monitor room. The room was almost never used – mainly because we didn't need to. It was just a storage closet with screens that monitored the numerous cameras placed around the headquarters.

"You guys should look at this," Jason said, his voice wavering a little. He held down a button and a camera recording went into rewind. When he hit the PLAY button again, there was an image of Brad and Crystal in the bedroom, talking on their bed.

"It was too fast," Crystal said. "It didn't happen to _us_ that fast, so it shouldn't happen like that to them."

"Calm down, Crys," Brad said, pressing his lips to her cheek a second later. "As long as you don't tell them, they won't know, and just think it's real. I don't want you to ruin this for them."

"You've always said that they're like your own kids, though. If they really were, what would you do?"

"If they were my kids, they wouldn't be committing to incest in the first place."

"Wait," I said. I leaned forward and pressed the large STOP button with my whole palm. "Wait."

"What?" Jack asked. "I wanted to watch the rest of that!"

"Shh." I waved a hand at him. "I know Ben did this. He had to."

Is he the only one who knows?" Jason asked. "He might not have been the only one to find out."

"No, he's the only one." I looked at Jack. "_Right_, Jack?"

"What? Yes, of course! I swore on my _life_ not to let anyone find out."

But if _I_ could watch you and figure out what you were," Jason said, touching his chest, "then anyone could."

"I _know_ it was Ben," I repeated. "Who else would do this? And besides, his parents are… they're… _god_, I can't remember!"

"You made yourself forget everything, didn't you?" Jack asked quietly.

I nodded. "They're… they're scientists. Right?" I looked at my open palms as if they held the answers. "Yeah. Scientists."

"Scientists?" Jack asked excitedly. "Scientists, where? Do you know?"

I shook my head. "I don't know if that's even it. But if they were, they wouldn't be from the Lab."

"They _could_ be, though," Jason said, standing up from his chair. "That's _something_."

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**SORRY i haven't posted this in forever... school . but that was chapter 7! i hope it doesn't take that long to get the next one up... R&R!**


	8. Chapter 8

**yeah i know it's taking forever to post this. but i was texting with my boyfriend a couple nights ago and inspiration just hit me. hope you like it!**

**DISCLAIMER: i own charries & plot here. nothing else.**

* * *

"They're stationed in… South America?" Jason looked at the computer screen, confused. "Paraguay's in South America, right?"

I nodded. Honestly, I couldn't believe that we had found information on Ben's parents. This was… huge. We could actually find Brad and Crystal and Taylor. The only problem was actually getting to Paraguay.

"Let's take a bus," Jack said.

Jason and I whirled around to face him.

"Are you _crazy_?" I asked.

"We could get caught and captured! Or _die_!" Jason shouted.

"And you're crazy!"

Jack chuckled. "I know I am." He grabbed me around my waist and planted a short kiss on my lips. "And I just meant take a bus somewhere closer so we don't have to fly the whole damn way."

I looked at Jason. "That could work."

"Yeah," Jason said, "If the plan is to get caught and kept in captivity for the rest of our miserable lives, then yes, it's brilliant."

Jack had a hurt look in his spring green eyes. "I was just trying to help. They're _my_ friends, too." He walked out, leaving me and the blonde alone in the monitor-room.

"I thought he's never leave," Jason said, and stood up from his rolly-chair.

"What do you mean?" I asked, backing up against one of the octagonal walls nervously.

"I mean he's a pain in the ass." He stepped closer to me and pushed some of my hair behind my ear. "You have gorgeous eyes."

"They're purple."

"Lilac, actually. Or lavender. I can't decide."

Suddenly, his lips pressed down on mine, and I was actually kissing him back. His hands ran up and down my sides, pausing at my breasts once or twice. I tangled my fingers in his long blonde hair. Tingles rippled up and down my spine as Jason's tongue gently pushed open my lips.

He slammed his palm on the metal wall next to my head. He was breathing heavily, his breath was sweet. His blue eyes bore down onto mine and he licked his lips.

"I have to show you another tape." He breathed for another few seconds. "Just you."

Jason sat down at the monitor screens and hit the PLAY button.

There was another image of Brad and Crystal on their bed, obviously the same night because they were wearing the same clothes. I looked in more, also getting closer to Jason.

"But Brad, they took us away," Crystal said. "They separated us when we were ten and brought us back together when we were fifteen. Love at first sight, Brad!"

"What about it?" Brad asked.

"They let our hormones kick in, and then got us together so we'd fall in love! That didn't happen with Emma and Jack! They need a love-at-first-sight experience!"

Jason pressed the STOP button, looked up at me, and smiled. "Well?"

"'Well' what?"

"When I first laid eyes on you as a human, I fell in love with you."

I thought back to a few days ago when I first saw Jason. He had just looked so… beautiful, but in a male way. It had been like he was glowing, but it was probably just the light reflecting off of his shiny hair. But I had seen something very attractive about him, something that made me attracted to him more than Jack, whom I supposedly "loved."

"You're speechless," he murmured and stood up from his chair and scooped me up in his arms. "You don't want to say it because you're afraid to admit that I'm amazing, right?"

I just stared up at him, wanting him to kiss me again. The spark that had been there was still dancing on my tongue and through every bone in my body.

Jason just stared into my eyes, stared right into my soul, and held me like I was a child and close to his chest. I felt his warmth emanating from him. He really _was_ amazing. But it was always me who failed to realize it.

I felt his lips slowly come onto mine and he pressed me closer to him. It was like being in heaven.

Before I knew it, we were lying on my bed, just kissing and kissing. I was highly aware of Jack's presence. We'd always had some connection. I didn't know if it was a good or bad thing. But I didn't like it.

I was able to shut Jack out once I felt Jason's rough-skinned hands on the small of my back, under my shirt. His breath was hot inside my mouth. I fumbled with the button and zipper on his jeans. His whole experience was just so... much more unexpected then it was when I was still with Ben. Things fell into place, then. I was actually ready for it, and it was dull. But now that I was going through it with Jason, everything was so sudden, and I liked the thrill of electricity it sent through me.

Our sparked flame of love was ignited, and things couldn't have been more perfect. The newly discovered love between us over-powered our thought and made its way into making something beautiful.

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**REVIEWS MAKE ME HAPPPPYY!**


	9. Chapter 9

**not getting reviews here. gonna end it in a chapter and then have a dinky little epilouge. thanks, fans ;_;**

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Brad and Crystal were right. It would have taken more than just growing up for me to "fall in love" with Jack. Yeah, I loved him. He was like m y brother. But with Jason, I was really in love with him.

I hadn't wanted to admit it to myself, but it was true. When I had first laid eyes on Jason, my heart fluttered around inside of my chest. And then when we made love last night… it was all just so _surreal_.

Jack muttered my name in his sleep. He rolled over and stuffed his face in a pillow. Had he been there the whole night?

I rolled over and met Jason's chest with my face. He was lying kind of awkwardly with his arm behind his head and his other hand on the inside of my thigh.

"Morning, sunshine," he said. "It _is_ morning, right?"

I giggled. "Yes, it's morning; hence the light streaming in through the east windows."

"Sorry, I'm just still a little dazed from last night." He winked at me.

"You're sick." I got out of the bed and pulled on some jeans and a shirt that were lying by my bed.

There was a light snow falling outside. I always liked winter, or at least the beginning of it. I sat down and rested my arms on the window sill.

I stared out the window.

There's more to being human than just coming into the world and then dying. Once you're there, being it, living it, then it's different. There's much more meaning to it.

Many people take it for granted, being human. "It's a privilege for us," like Crystal had said. "It's a gift for those few hours that are possible. The real humans don't know how lucky they are."

I wanted to see Crystal again. I wanted to feel the warmth of her icy blue-blonde hair against my cheek. I wanted it all back. Scratch that. I needed it all back.

Crystal was like my mom. She raised me, for the most part. It felt like part of me was missing when she wasn't near.

The snowflakes outside swirled around in the wind currents. I swore I could see Crystal out there, disguised as a shadow on the snow beds, where she belonged.

"So."

I turned around; expecting to see Jason, but it was Jack. He was wearing his poker face, but I saw right through it. He was trying to hold back tears and his pain through his façade.

"What?" I asked. I hadn't done anything wrong. It was in my nature. I was literally programmed like that.

Jack took a shaky breath. "What about us?" His voice cracked on the last word.

"There's no 'us,' Jack. Not anymore."

"Why? Just because Mr. Perfect's here doesn't mean you have to go run off with him!"

"You were there all night, weren't you?"

"Yes, I was. And trust me; you two were hard to tune out." I saw a chill run down his spine, and he quivered.

"Sorry." I looked back outside.

"Why did you do it?"

"Jason showed me another tape. Brad and Crystal said that we need a love-at-first-sight experience before we really fall in love. _We_ didn't have that."

"But you had it with Jason?"

"Yeah. I guess."

He sat next to me with his legs under and behind him. "Ems, I've loved you my whole life. That doesn't mean anything to you?"

"The scientists at the Lab made us like that. It wasn't my fault, I swear."

Jack didn't say anything more. He just stood up and started out of the room.

"I _do_ love you, Jack. Just not the same way as I love Jason."

"I see." And he left right after that.

_**

* * *

**_"Ready for this?" Jason asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I answered. I didn't know why he was coming on this recue-mission. It wasn't how family. He didn't know who he was going to save. My theory was that he just wanted to prove himself to us.

"Let's go," Jack said somewhat bitterly.

I knew that he thought it was my fault that we had to save them. _I_ was the one who let our secret out and _I_ was the reason why Brad, Crystal, and Taylor were kidnapped.

And all of this was only because he didn't have me anymore.

We flew over the Atlantic Ocean and rested a night in Florida. After we were rested and energized again, we took off over the Gulf of Mexico and over South America.

"This looks like it," Jason thought to us.

We circled down and landed approximately two miles from where the science base would be with my family.

"Let's bounce," Jason thought as he shifted into a handsome jungle jaguar and started running east.

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**thanks to Skylark Evanson partly for the last line Jason says. let's bounce, just bounce, lemme see dat body bounce... .**


	10. Chapter 10

**well. thanks to my lack of reviews and readers in previous chapters, this is the last one. hopefully I wrapped everything up for you, since i wrote this chapter in about 30 minutes last night, just wanting to get it done.**

**DISCLAIMER: i own nothing but these characters and the plot.**

* * *

The facility didn't live up to my expectations. It was really rather small, about the size of a football field. But for a private organization, it looked like it was getting the monetary support it needed. Somewhere in that mess of chambers, hallways, and experimental rooms, my family was being taken captive. I think.

"Either we need to find an open door," Jason said as he sat next to me. "Or infiltrate."

"Infiltrate," I agreed as I sprang from my cougar form into a brilliant macaw and perched atop the barbed-wire fence that surrounded the building. "You guys coming?"

"A purple macaw?" Jason asked as his orange bird=-body positioned itself next to me.

"Yes. All of my animals have purple in them from my eyes." I admired my royal purple, lavender, and lilac feathers. "Purple sure beats orange."

He cocked his bird0head at me right before Jack flew between us as a green variation of our tropical aviator form.

"Are we saving out family or not?" Jack asked. "Let's go. I see a door."

As we got closer to the entrance, we saw a guard in a white uniform, holding a large gun, and watching the entrance. They had long black hair pulled up in a pony-tail, the end of which was hanging over their shoulder. I couldn't believe it. Already, after not even a week, Taylor had betrayed us.

Jack made in irritated sound in his mind, loud enough for the three of us to hear. "She's always wanted to be a part of something big."

"How is she staying human?" I thought. "She _has_ to have Dekhurkeh on her."

"'Dekhurkeh?'" Jason asked.

"The stuff that the headquarters' walls are lined with. Quartz mixed with mica and sandstone, boiled at a zillion degreed, and crystallized to perfection," jack answered. "Costs a million to produce, but Brad jacked some when we escaped. Its powers are effective in a ten foot radius, and lasts a lifetime. If we could get our hands on some, we would kill for it."

"And what does it do?"

"It guarantees that after two hours of being human, you'll still be alive."

"Oh."

"Everyone ready?" I asked. "Yes? Good." I swooped down into the fortress after dodging a few of Taylor's bullets.

I flew down hallways, taking turns and weaving around scientists, following my instincts towards Brad any Crystal.

"Stop right there."

I almost flew straight into the barrel of a gun, but stopped myself before I could. Hovering and focusing on the person who held the gun, I nearly died just from fright.

"I knew you'd come if we captured them," Ben said, spinning the gun around his forefinger, just to impress me.

I looked beyond him to see a room with a glass ceiling, covered in trees and other typical jungle greenery. Perfect.

Jack flew past me, evading Ben's attention, and d into the jungle room. I followed him.

I flew around high in the trees and shifted my form into a purple butterfly; something that Ben would have a hard time seeing. Knowing that he was nearsighted and colorblind so certain hues made things a lot easier.

Ben followed us in and closed the door behind him. We were trapped. "Come out; come out, wherever you are."

Jack rustled some leaved in his shift to a tiger, unfortunately catching the enemy's attention.

"There you are." Ben show the gun as Jack was running away, but still got a hit.

Jack let out a loud howl as his form crippled into a defenseless human's.

"Jack!" I thought, loud and clear. I flew down to him, staying under cover of the large leaved and shifted to a human when I hit the ground, fully hidden in the trees. "Jack."

I heard Jason crashing into the glass door, laughing his little head off, and distracting Ben.

"Ems."Jack lightly closed his fingers over mine. "Stay with… with Jason. He… really loves… you."

"Jack… _no_."

"I… I love you."

"Jack…" I picked up his head and turned him to look at me, but it was already too late. He was gone.

"That's it." I shifted into my cougar again and charged at Ben through the trees, catching him by surprise and clawing up his face, chest, and back pretty badly. I broke through the glass door and kept racing through the halls.

"Where's Jack?" Jason asked, flying slightly behind me.

"Don't ask stupid questions." If I was still human, my voice would've cracked. Horribly.

It was the over-powering smell of Dekhurkeh that gave away where Brad and Crystal were being held captive. The sterile and earthy smell had tortured me for most of my life, but I never knew that it would one day lead me to succeeding a rescue mission.

Jason and I burst into the room. The walls were yellowing, revealing the poor quality of the faded Dekhurkeh. A candle was hanging from the ceiling. Two shoe boxes were placed under it.

I didn't have to investigate to know that two small carcasses were laying in them. One Crystal's, one Brad's. The smell of dry blood mixed with their individual scents was enough to just give up.

"They're… gone?" Jason asked. "Everyone?"

"Except for Taylor, but she's on the dark side now. I never really liked her, anyway."

"I'm… I'm sorry, Emma."

"Let's just leave." I turned around and ran out of the maze of corridors and into the jungle.

* * *

__Following Jack's advice, once Jason and I got back to headquarters, we settled down together. The Dekhurkeh in the walls was still strong, and would last another good 60 years or so. We would be fine, if we weren't killed or recaptured by then.

Just like I had offered my home to Jason, the two of us offered it to other Shifters that had escaped and were living on their own. The cycle of Karma that we lived in never stopped.

I don't know if Jason and I were really meant to be. I didn't really care, either. But one thing I was sure of, because of the pain that I felt when Jack left this world, I would always have the heart of a human.

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**THE END. PLEASE REVIEW.**


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